"So," Nick broke the silence, placing a mug of coffee in front of his boss and sitting down beside her. "How's our girl doing?"
"She's alright." The strawberry blonde shrugged, tossing her magazine aside and taking a long sip of her drink. She grimaced at the foul taste and nudged the cup away. Nick frowned, not liking her cryptic answer to his question. When she noticed his look she sighed and turned to him to elaborate. "She's still kind of … spaced out."
"Spaced out?" Nick repeated, not following.
"Yeah, sometimes she just drifts into her own little world." Cath rested her head on her hand, propped up on the countertop and a thoughtful look crossed her face. "I just wish I knew what was going through her head. Then at least I could try to help her." Nick smiled sympathetically, reaching out to lay a comforting hand on her arm.
"Hey, you are helping." He pointed out softly.
"Yeah, sure." Cath scoffed, automatically reaching out for her coffee before remembering why she moved it away from her. She settled for spinning the mug between her hands just to avoid meeting the Texan's gaze.
"I'm serious." He continued, attempting to meet her gaze. "You and I both know Sara: if you weren't helping her do you think she'd still be letting you take care of her?"
Catherine didn't answer, and after a long moment of her silence Nick gave up and took his drink outside for some fresh air.
But Cath had to admit that the man had a point.
X x x
By the time Catherine eventually found Sara, it was nearly the end of shift and the brunette was already in the locker room.
"Hey, I've been looking for you."
Sara looked up and smiled. "Well, now you've found me." She countered, instinctively going to unholster her weapon before realising that it wasn't there. She was still jumpy and they had decided that it would be best for everyone's safety if she wasn't carrying, just for the time being.
"Yeah, I have." Cath cleared her throat, buying time while she worked out what she was going to say. Sara must have noticed her discomfort because she sent her an odd look.
"You okay?" She asked, leaning against her locker to give Cath her full attention.
"That's meant to be my question." The older CSI pointed out. Sara responded with a half-smile, but waited for an answer all the same. "I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay." Sara frowned. No sentence that started with those words had ever ended well, at least not in her experiences. Catherine pursed her lips, glancing around the small room. Her gaze finally settled on the bench.
"Look, sit down." She gripped Sara's sides, guiding her onto the bench. "Alright, please, listen to me."
"I don't like where this is going." Sara scowled suspiciously. Cath laughed nervously, grabbing her hand in an effort to offer some comfort.
"It's nothing bad." She promised. "I just wanted to talk to you about coming back to work. I think it's too soon."
"I'm fine." Sara jumped in before she could continue. "I just..."
"Honey, you froze up." Cath cut her off gently. "You jumped every time someone got too close. You're not ready for this."
"I want to stay." Sara mumbled, fixing Catherine with a pleading look. The supervisor released a sigh, scanning the desperate expression of the girl in front of her.
"Maybe you're just not ready to be back in the field yet." She offered as a compromise. "How about a few nights in the lab, just to get some of your confidence back?"
Sara opened her mouth to contest but the look on Catherine's face told her it wasn't worth it. She'd already made up her mind on this one and if there was one thing Sara had learnt from staying with Cath it was to pick your battles wisely.
"Alright." She conceded at last, albeit reluctantly. "A few days."
"Good girl." Cath praised quietly. They shared a minute of thoughtful silence, which was finally broken by her husky voice. "Sar, can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Sara shrugged despondently.
"Why have you stayed with me?" She looked up, a hurt look flashing across her face. When Catherine realised how that must have sounded to the brunette she quickly backtracked, sliding closer on the bench so she could wrap an arm around her back. "I … I didn't mean it like that; you're welcome to stay as long as you want."
"Okay." Sara nodded uncertainly, not following the other woman's train of thought.
"I just wanted to know why you've stayed this long."
"I didn't know I had a choice." Sara blinked. A soft frown embedded itself in Catherine's face.
"Of course you do." She shook her head in bemusement. "I'm not going to keep you against your will. I was just … curious."
"Well, I like being around you." Sara shrugged nervously, suddenly becoming unusually interested in her shoes. "But I can go home anytime, just say the word…"
"No, no." Cath shushed her, tugging her closer. "I want you to stay. I just wanted to make sure that you want to stay."
"I do." Sara smiled. Catherine matched her expression, letting their heads fall together.
"Good." She murmured, nuzzling Sara's face and letting her hand creep around the young woman's waist.
They were so wrapped up in their tender moment; both remained oblivious to Nick smiling fondly at them from the threshold.
X x x
With Lindsey at school, the house was so quiet when they got inside. Sara instantly made for the stairs, but Catherine's voice held her back.
"You want to talk?" She asked. It was a common question between them; Cath had discovered that the easiest way to get the frustratingly enigmatic woman to open up was simply to ask her.
This morning, however, it was not going to work. She knew that something was on the brunette's mind because she'd been silent the whole way home. But she simply shook her head and shuffled upstairs. Catherine watched her go with a concerned sigh.
She considered going after her, but decided to leave her be. If she wanted to talk then she would come to her.
Stretching, she opted to take a hot shower, check on her guest and then crawl into bed.
Some sleep would do them both some good anyway.
X x x
Cath nudged the bathroom door open with her foot, shuffling into her bedroom while simultaneously tying her robe and drying her hair. She tossed the towel onto the bed, noticing for the first time that she had a visitor.
Sara was curled on her side at the foot of the bed, one arm tucked awkwardly under her head. Cath pursed her lips, shaking her head softly.
"Awe honey," she mumbled, kneeling down beside her friend. "You wanted to talk to me, huh?" She guessed, running her fingers through Sara's silky hair. She pushed herself back up and dragged a blanket over the sleeping form.
Leaving her to doze, Cath wandered over to her drawers and started pulling out clothes.
X x x
Sara blinked. The room was the wrong way around.
Before her hazy vision could clear, Catherine wandered into her line of sight. Sara blinked again, taken aback by the image of the blonde sliding out of a bathrobe, her golden hair dripping down her naked back. She picked up a t-shirt and slipped it over her head, shaking her hair out.
Sara attempted to sit up, mumbling something indistinguishable in an attempt to get Cath's attention. The blonde turned, surprised by the noise behind her.
"Hey." She smiled softly, straightening her t-shirt out and walking back over to the bed. Sara attempted a smile as Cath knelt down beside her, helping her to sit up. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." Sara shrugged tiredly. Cath scrutinised her face for a moment.
"Did you want to talk to me?" She pressed gently. Sara frowned.
"Yeah … but I can't remember what about." A quiet laugh bubbled out of Catherine at Sara's perplexed expression. She reached out to stroke her cheek with the back of her hand.
"Well, why don't you stay in here and if you remember you can let me know." She suggested softly. Before Sara could get her head around the request, she found herself tugged gently up the bed and covered in a blanket.
"It's okay, it can wait." She managed to stutter out, but her attempt to escape the bed was halted by Catherine's arm across her chest.
"Please, I'll feel better if you stay." Cath assured her, forcefully encouraging her to lay back into the pillows. It was true, she could sleep easier knowing that she was there if her friend needed to talk and something about her young colleague's demeanour suggested that she didn't really want to be alone right now, even if she couldn't admit it out loud.
Sara shuffled down, watching the blonde saunter around the room in her t-shirt and panties, seemingly without a care at being so exposed. She ran a brush through her hair briefly, before switching off the light and clambering into the bed beside Sara.
The brunette stared at her expectantly in the lamplight, waiting for her to make the first move. Despite having spent a lot of time with her lately, this was the first time Sara had seen a different side of Catherine. She was so comfortable in her own skin; so easy in her movements.
Once under the covers, she shuffled until comfortable and then turned to Sara.
"You're memory come back yet?" She asked, her voice suddenly hoarse and low.
"No." Sara said slowly, still not sure what Catherine was planning. The older woman shrugged, offering a gentle smile.
"Well if it does, wake me up." She leant over and placed a kiss on Sara's cheek, before snuggling under the covers. Sara followed suit, albeit slowly. As she got laid down, she felt a pair of arms snake around her middle and hot breath on the back of her neck. The scent of Catherine's soap infiltrated her senses.
Sara inched backwards a little, letting Catherine tighten their embrace. After a long moment, she found her voice.
"I don't know what I want right now." She felt Catherine prop herself up on her elbow, but couldn't bear to meet her gaze. "My heads so messed up."
"I know, sweetie." Cath whispered, running a hand over Sara's arm. "It's going to take time to heal."
"I don't want to heal." Sara sulked. "I just want it all to go away."
"It will." Cath promised with a soft chuckle, leaning down to pepper kisses on her face. "While you heal."
Sara smiled tightly at her little joke. As small as it was, Catherine caught the movement and nudged her playfully under the covers.
"I saw that." She teased, leaning over her to place a chaste kiss on the corner of her lips.
x x x x
Thought I'd leave you on a high note x